mantes



(No Model.)

C. T. MANTER.

CARPET STRETCHER.

Patented Nov 22,1887.

INVBNTOR WITNESSES i ATTORNEYS.

N. PETERS Pvwwumo n hur. Waihinglou D. c.

\UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

CHARLES T. MANTER, OF BISMARCK, MISSOURI.

CARPET-STRETCH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 373,593, dated November 22, 1887.

Serial No. 239,419. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES THOMSON MANTER, of Bismarck, in the county of St. Francois and State of Missouri, have invented a new and Improved Carpet Stretcher, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in carpet-stretchers, and has for its object to provide a device whereby carpet of any weight may be evenly stretched across a room by a single individual, and wherein the device may be adjusted for use in varioussized rooms.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my stretcher applied, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the stretcher proper. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the auxiliary or extension and partly broken away, and Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section through the same on'the line x m of Fig. 3.

In carrying out the invention, the body A of the stretcher is preferably made rectangular, of any light material, and of any desired length, the said body being provided centrally and longitudinally with a slot, a, extending from a point near the inner end, where the wall of the slot is made to taper forward, out through the forward end, as

shown at a in Fig. 1. A lever, B, is pivoted in the slot a, near the forward end, which lever, extending to the rear in said slot, is normally adapted to rest at its inner end upon the aforesaid tapered wall, flush with the upper surface of the body, as shown in Fig. 2. The lever B, beyond the end of the body A, is made slightly narrower than the body A, and is provided with a central longitudinal end slot, 1), having a forwardly and downwardly inclined end wall, D, the reverse of the slot in the body. In the said slot b the shank E of the stretcher-head E is pivoted, which head is provided with a toothed plate,

e, attached to its outer end. It will thus be seen that while the lever B may be raised upward, it cannot pass down through the slot a, due to the inclined end surface, a, of said slot and the corresponding inclined inner end face of the lever, and also that when the lever is raised to an angle of forty-five degrees or more, as shown in Fig. 1 (the stretcher having been adjusted to reach within a few inches of across the room,) as soon as the teeth 6 are securely set in the carpet, about six inches from its edge, by bearing down on the arm B the head IE will assume a horizontal position, preventing the teeth from catching in the floor, as shown in Fig. 5, and by further pressing on the arm B the edge of the carpet will be carried to the desired point.

An auxiliary or extension arm, F, is provided, adapted for use with the body A, purposed to lengthen the said body when and as required. The said auxiliary arm is slotted longitudinally through the center, as at f, and opposing longitudinal and horizontal grooves f are made in the walls of said slot, as shown in Fig. 4. Into the grooves and slot a tongued extension rod, F, is slid, provided with an outer end, G, of a width equal to the width of the arm, the said lever having journaled therein rollers y, the object of which rollers is to prevent the binding of the carpet to the floor by the thrust of the stretcher, thus allowing the carpet to stretch evenly and smoothly clear across the room.

A series of transverse apertures, 71, are made through the arm F, and the rod adapted to receive a bolt, H, by means of which the rod may be held at any point of extension desired.

1n operation the inner end of the auxiliary arm, which is convexed and covered with soft material, It, is placed against the baseboard, and the similarly curved and covered end 7L2 of the body is brought in contact with the concave forward edge, h, of the extension-rod. The rod is then drawn out until the head registers with the desired point upon the carpet and secured. The lever being then lifted up, the carpet is easily forced forward, as aforesaid, and held in position for nailing.

Having thus described my invention,whatI b, and the toothed plate 6, secured to said claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters head and adapted to operate substantially as 10 Patent, is herein set; forth.

The combination with the body A, provided 5 with a longitudinal slot, 0, having a beveled CHARLES MANTER' inner end wall, a, of the lever B, provided Witnesses: with a slot, b, provided with a beveled inner CHAS. LEGGETT,

end wall, I), the head E, pivoted in said slot L; F. J ONEs. 

